The Truth about Move-In
Personally, I remember every moment of Move-In Day. This is not because it was traumatic or because it was underwhelming. I remember every detail simply because I was overwhelmed, terrified, yet excited at the same time.
I remember driving into the parking lot and anxiously sitting next to the hot pink flags that represented Crawford House. Then, every 10 minutes or so, I could hear people screaming as the next wave of cars drove to their assigned dorms. These screams were coming from Vanderbilt’s Move Crew. The upperclassmen who lined the parking lot and all around Commons (where all of the first-years live) were screaming not at me, but in a way, with me in order to welcome me to the next best four years of my life. The enthusiastic smiles on all of their faces were so welcoming that I couldn’t help but smile and feel excited about moving in, too.
In the next few moments, my car was swarmed by people dressed in neon shirts to unload our truck. Every single person was definitely a MVP because I literally packed our truck to capacity.
I, without a doubt, overestimated the amount of “dorm room essentials” that I would actually need in college. But, with smiles on their faces, the Move Crew gladly carried every single one of my items up to my room all the way on the 6th floor. Without them, it would have taken my family and me hours to unpack our overstuffed car.
However, the moment that I will honestly never forget is when I finally stood in my dorm room after decorating, and everything was placed exactly where I wanted it to be. I stood back, looked at my room, and it finally hit me that this would be my home for the next 8 months. Honestly, I was very hesitant about leaving home for college up until this day, but the ease and exhilaration of Move-In definitely showed me that college was not as scary as I thought it would be. My room looked great, and my roommate (who I found on Facebook) was actually really amazing! I actually never met her in person until Move-In, but to this day, I am so glad that she is my roommate. After the meetings and the delicious barbecue dinner on Move-In Day, I went to bed that night excited for the next four years of my life at Vanderbilt!
If you have any questions about Move-In Day, feel free to contact me at ashli.alexander@vanderbilt.edu! I’d love to hear from you!